


Unexpected Visitor

by ShadowArtemis4456



Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Animal Transformation, Animals, F/M, Familiars, Lions, Wolves
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-23
Updated: 2018-03-23
Packaged: 2019-04-07 03:31:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,988
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14071968
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShadowArtemis4456/pseuds/ShadowArtemis4456
Summary: (This is a what if one shot of a Dragon age AU story I am working on outside of this site)Three years have passed since the Dread Wolf revealed himself, took the Inquisitor’s lower left arm which in turn caused her to drop off the face of the whole of Thedas, and now Cullen finds himself standing alone in his office at the Sanctuary he created for Templars wanting to break free of Lyrium addiction; but when an unexpected visitor shows up in the dead of night for a small chat, Cullen is determined to speak his feelings to and for the former Inquisitor, Aurelia Tempest, and hopefully get her to stay. Sometimes things just don’t go exactly the way we plan, but For Cullen and Aurelia, who says plans need to happen for a happy ending?





	Unexpected Visitor

A heavy sigh escaped the man, with blonde hair that was styled back, who stood at the desk, so much had happened in the Inquisition in what felt like a long span of time but truthfully had only been four years of his life. Now three years later as his eyes scanned over some paperwork, he almost did not notice when a knock sounded at his door. “Enter,” his rich voice rang out as a soft snore came from his loyal dog that lay before the hearth which had a fire burning to drive out the winter chill.

The door opened to allow whoever had knocked to enter and softly clicked behind the person whose steps were unlike the steps of those he saw and interacted with everyday. He continued to scan the paperwork, until that familiar voice rang out. A voice he figured he would never hear again, a voice that spoke of whispering summer rains and was as sweet as honey to his ears, caused him to stop reading and slowly look up with heart skipping so many beats he was afriad that he would possibly die. “Do you ever sleep, Cullen?” As his eyes rose he saw the owner of the voice and couldn’t help but stare.

“Aurelia?” He questioned breathlessly as the woman he saw before him nodded. Her ebony hair was thrown back in a hasty ponytail which had him noting that it was damn near her butt from not being cut in who could say how long; her eyes, with heavy signs of sleepless nights under them, still held that wild look that he had often seen across from him at those war table meetings when she had been Inquisitor; her high cheekbones, soft lips and other facial features seemed sunken in from not eating or sleeping properly. “Maker’s breath, how long has it been?” He questioned as she cocked her head to the side like a curious puppy.

“I would say...” she pursed her pale lips into a line as she thought the answer over, “At the very least? Since the Exalted Council took place,” She shrugged as he watched her worriedly, “But I’d rather not talk about that, it’s not why I came.” She told him as he slid around his desk to walk over to her tired frame, that at this moment looked extremely frail and ready to collapse at any minute.

“What brought you here then, Aurelia?” Cullen’s amber colored eyes scanned her for any injuries, anything that could betray the reason behind her ill-looking self.

“Just figured I would stop and see how an old friend was doing.”

Cullen’s brows furrowed, “You could have written.” He continued to move towards her and watched as she shook her head.

“Hard to write when I refuse to stay in human form for longer then a couple of hours every three or so months.” She sighed closing her icy colored eyes as he stopped in his tracks.

“What do you mean?” He asked, heart pausing in its beats for a brief moment.

Her eyes opened and then he saw it, behind those icy eyes rested a beast. Wild and fighting her to be free again. “So I take that question as a response to the fact that Josephine didn’t send you the message like she promised?” Aurelia sighed, “Well I can’t really fault her for it with how busy she has become.”

“Aurelia?” Cullen questioned as she swayed a little bit with how weary she was as she fought to remain up right. He was ready to spring to her side, like he had so many times before, but she waved him off.

“I’ve been wandering the forests and Wilds as a wolf, only ever bothering to walk into cities and towns once every three months and even then its not for very long.” Cullen didn’t want to believe what he was hearing but the truth was in her eyes, the wolf was wanting to be free again as the wild was calling to her once more.

“What...” he couldn’t stop the pain in his voice, “what brought you to see me?”

“I just said-!”

“The truth, Aurelia, I want the truth.”

Aurelia sighed as she adverted her gaze from his stare, “I wasn’t lying when I said I came to see how you are doing,” she started as she felt her knees shaking with the effort she was putting forth to stay upright, which had him tensing up once more, “I was however passing by a couple of miles away when I caught your scent and had the sudden urge to see you.” She explained as she finally allowed herself to fall forward with him lunging to catch her. He knelt as she slipped to her knees, following her as she went down, “Gods and Goddesses be damned,” She grumbled low, “I hate the winter and hate the snow.”

“What do you mean?” Cullen questioned as he met her eyes again. The last time he had seen her, he had happened to have her throw a snowball at his head by complete accident as it had been meant for someone else, and thusly he had decided to throw one in response which had then initiated a sudden break out of a legendary game of snowballs being thrown around among the members of the Inquisition with laughter abound as everyone joined in, but now, to hear her suddenly admit to hating it, well to say it surprised him would be a great understatement.

“Winter is never a good time for wolves, there’s less to eat and therefore more fighting happens between packs and pack members,” She told him as he swiftly scooped her into his arms. She made a few protests but he pointedly ignored them and set her down in one of the chairs by the fire. He threw some more logs onto the fire, put on a kettle to heat up water for some tea, then he went over to a little cubby, dragged out a spare blanket and walked back over to her to throw it around her shoulders. As the blanket settled around her, she looked to the blanket and smiled softly as she recognized it. “You kept this blanket?” She thumbed the gold trimmed edges as he watched her.

“After you disappeared, I couldn’t force myself to just abandon everything you owned in Skyhold,” He admitted sheepishly causing her gaze to fall on him. He saw the wonder and something else in her eyes but though his heart pleaded for him to reach out to her, he refused and stood there looking down on her. In the chair with that blanket wrapped around her, she looked tinier then what she was. “I have all of your things stored away safely.”

Aurelia felt tears prick her eyes, _Oh Cullen..._ She thought with sorrow as she looked down and away from him. “You don’t have to keep them that way.” She explained feeling a sudden pang of guilt as her beast whined. 

“Why?” He felt a lump form in his throat at what she was going to say next. 

“Because when I leave here...” she felt tears fighting to be free, “I won’t ever be returning to human form...” she swore she heard her heart shatter then, but it was the truth. She had been switching between forms so little that she literally was more wolf then human now. When he asked why, she closed her eyes and explained, “I’ve been more wolf then human for three years, so had I never crossed your scent I wouldn’t even be here now. I was only two nights away from the wolf claiming my body and soul forever,” She didn’t dare open her eyes, she could smell it in his scent. But then, as if he sensed it, she felt his large hands envelope her smaller and only remaining hand.

”Aurelia...” he wasn’t sure what was coming over him, but he knew he had to do something to stop her from leaving. To stop her from answering the call of the wilderness. “Can I tell you something?” He asked quietly as she nodded. 

“I’ve missed you.” Three little words he hadn’t intended on saying, three little words that had just come from his mouth of their own accord, and now he found her eyes lifting to meet his own. 

“Cullen?” She asked as he finally knelt down to kiss the knuckles of her hand. 

“Allow me to tell you a story?” He asked as she cocked her head to the side, and then he began. Starting with when he had met her in Haven, he told her everything he had ever felt during the wild adventure that had formed the Inquisition, and then he meet her eyes as a flurry of emotions roiled around in the icy colors, “...it was only only at the Exalted Council when you announced the disbanding of the Inquisition and disappeared without a trace, that I realized how stupid I was for not acknowledging the flirts that you tried so hard to grab my attention with.” He finally admitted to both himself and to her as he watched her unshed tears slowly begin to roll down her face. “I can’t change the past not matter how much I want to...but if I could, I would start all over and this time I would acknowledge every little flirt and joke you gave to me.” It was his turn to look away now and as he did the kettle began to whistle, summoning him to stand and take it from the heat of the fire. 

Aurelia watched him as he poured out the water into two cups, and suddenly realized that the wolf within was silent. _Odd time for it to become suddenly quiet..._ she thought as she closed her eyes. Then she realized why the ebony furred wolf that she could become had grown calm and quiet, it was acknowledging Cullen’s words, and taking a sudden que from it to approach him, she stood up, let the blanket fall to the chair and made her way towards the ex-Templar who seemed to be struggling with his own sudden outburst of emotions. “Cullen,” she whispered softly as he felt her arm wrap around his torso to rest her hand on his chest. He felt her head rest on his back, reached for her remaining hand and held it as the teas seeped. “Don’t blame yourself...I am at fault for not making my intentions to be with you clearer. But it may honestly be to late to even try now, I am still more wolf then human, it would take too long for me to begin learning to be human again for us to start anything.” With those words she let him go and slowly began to make her way to the door, she had been there too long. She had intended to stay for a little bit, then return to the wild and continue to be a wolf for the rest of her days.

Cullen turned around as she pulled away only to stop her before she could go anywhere by reaching out and gently took her wrist into his grasp. “Aura,” he said the nickname he used to use when they had been able to be alone as friends for several moments during her time as Inquisitor. He didn’t want to let her go and so held her wrist as she turned her wolfish gaze at him. “Don’t go. Please...” he begged showing his emotions not just through his body language and voice but in his eyes as well.

Aurelia fought with herself, she couldn’t leave him but she felt the wild calling to her once more. “Cullen, I...”

”Just a little while longer?” He pleaded, his time spent as the Commander was urging him to do this for he felt something bad was about to happen if she left, but something else told him that the longer she spent outside of wolf form, the more likely he was to see her stay as a human and regain her humanity once more. 

“Cullen I’ve been here since eleven thirty, its almost midnight.” She told him as he frowned. 

“How can you...?” 

She had the ghost of a smirk on her face, “More wolf then human remember?” 

“Right. Sorry.” He apologized as she groaned. 

“Still with the fucking apologies! When will you ever stop...” she groaned as he chuckled. 

“Old habits die hard,” he smiled at her as she frowned. 

“Apparently some never do,” she teased as he shook his head. 

“I’ve missed this,” he still had a smile on his face and she nodded. “Would you mind staying for some tea?” 

“Is your tea as bad as your cooking?” She taunted him and he frowned as he took the bait. 

“My cooking is not that bad!” 

“Says the one who burnt the rolls.” 

“You will never let me live that down will you?” 

“No,” she smiled warmly as she sat down and took a cup from him, “Just like you will never live down lecturing me the first day we met when I was going to ask you something in Haven before I flirted with you.” 

“Maker’s breath.” Cullen sighed as he sat across from her while she giggled. That was a sound he had really missed and found himself rolling in it.

They sat in silence for a bit, but then she spoke. “Cullen?” 

“Hmm?” 

“If...if I decided to stay human...” _Gods why is this so difficult!_ She mentally kicked herself as he looked to her from staring into the fire, “If I decided to stay human, what would you say?”

Cullen frowned then, he wondered where that question had suddenly come from then realized that as he watched her, she had a slight pink tinge to her cheeks. “I would offer you a place here in the Sanctuary. From what I remember you are an excellent herbalist, potion maker and despite you being a Witch from an entirely different world, I would appreciate the company and...” he blushed as she looked up to see him rubbing the back of his neck, “I’ve been meaning to ask someone to help with the healing and other things that I don’t understand quite yet.” He returned his gaze to her as she looked back down to run a finger along the rim of the cup. She was biting her lip, a tell-tale sign that she was contemplating something, then she met his eyes and what she said next had his heart stop and his breath catch. 

“Would you be willing to start over? To...” she didn’t need to finish the sentence as he leaned forward and touched her cheek with a gentle brush of his fingers. 

“We don’t need to start over,” he whispered, “I just need you.” He stated as she set the cup down on the table between them as he mimicked the move, before pulling her forward and into his lap with his lips stealing her gasp of surprise. It took her mind a minute to recover but by then her body was already responding and she was returning his kiss.

As they kissed she though back on why the wolf had urged her to follow his scent when the wind had shifted it to her direction, and the words of a song came to her mind and she let the words flow into her mind, _I’m gunna follow my heart right back to you, Cullen, you are the one I’ve been needing my entire life. Especially since Varian, my lion familiar, passed away._ she added his name and the last few words on as an after thought. When they pulled away she looked into his amber eyes and finally admitted something that she should have a long time ago. “I know this is probably too early, but I’m going to anyway: I love you, Cullen,” She said as his heart stopped. 

“Its never to early to say that because, I love you too, Aurelia,” He smiled as it showed in his eyes. “My Witch,” He felt his heart leap at finally being able to say those teo words and then it really tried to jump out of his chest as she spoke in the odd language she had been known to use.

”Yes I am, mo leòmhann _*_.” She told him as he smiled and sealed her lips with his own once more. She would stay human, and this time, she would be with Cullen until the end of time itself if he allowed.

”So you’re going to stay?” He questioned as she pulled away for a moment.

”Hopefully until the end of time, if you’ll have me?” She smiled in response as he pulled her back into another kiss but burning passions were soon ablaze and he found himself lifting her up as he stood and soon the disappeared through a side door to his room, and that night neither of them would get sleep as passions met in sweet embraces, kisses and much more, but he stopped for a moment to look into her eyes.

“Then let forever come, because I’m not letting you out of my sight ever again,” he gave his oath to her and she accepted it welcomingly with another kiss. 

They say midnight is the witching hour, but for Aurelia, this hour of midnight was special as she had chosen her fate. To be a Witch living with an ex-Templar; to be in love with a man who was everything she ever needed without realizing she needed it. She had saved him from lyrium addiction, but now it was his turn to be her saving grace and he would take that honor in stride. “I love you, Cullen.” Aurelia’s voice echoed into the silence after they spent their energy.

”I love you too, Aurelia.”

**Author's Note:**

> *mo leòmhann= my lion


End file.
